LIBRARY DIGITAL COLLECTIONS & EXHIBITS

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The Byrth of Mankynde, published in 1540, is the oldest manual for midwives printed in the English language. It remained in use both as a guidebook for midwives and as a source for physicians in the practice of obstetrics throughout Europe for the next two hundred years. The 1540 Byrth was a translation from the Latin edition of De Partu Hominis of Eucharius Rösslin’s Rosengarten. Rösslin was charged with supervising the midwives of Frankfurt, and although this volume contains sound instruction on delivery procedures, it did not break new ground in the field of obstetrics. Instead, it makes available the teachings of the Roman physician Soranus, popularized by Moschion, author of a 6th century question – and –answer book for Roman midwives. Other influences include Galen, Hippocrates, Aetius, Magnus and others. The volume’s seventeen copper-engraved plates were among the first in England to be produced by a roller press. The first illustrates “the Womans Stwle,” or birth chair, a birth aid which had been in use at least since Soranus’ time. Sixteen additional plates depict “Byrth Figures” in various positions in utero. The babies in these images, who resemble children age three or four and not fetuses, float dreamily in light-bulb-shaped vessels...READ MORE

This early work by the Scottish anatomist Charles Bell was composed for medical students and aimed to offer accurately and simply-rendered illustrations of the arteries. It was used as a preparatory text for surgical study and practice. The ten engravings in this volume were hand-colored, and labelled with letters corresponding to explanatory descriptions of the arteries on the opposite page. Bell was an accomplished medical illustrator; the engravings were done by Thomas Medland after Bell’s drawings. For Bell, true anatomical understanding was aided in pairing accurate drawing with thorough description. Bell believed that a variety of bodies should be used as subjects, and that the artist must choose the most typical anatomical examples to copy accurately. Bell made important inroads in determining the sensory functions of the nervous system, and was an early advocate of the idea that different parts of the brain controlled different functions; his pioneering work on the brain and cranial nerves influenced the work of other important brain researchers for decades. Chief among his achievements are his very fine medical illustrations, unsurpassed in terms of efficiency of presentation and elegance. These are very much on display in this beautiful book...READ MORE

Never trust a Chocolate Frog card: Nicolas Flamel, magician, is introduced via that medium to Harry and Ron on their inaugural ride to Hogwarts. Despite the interference of a less than helpful librarian—Madame Pince, for shame!-- Harry unearths Flamel's backstory as the maker of the philosopher's stone and beneficiary of the elixir of life, a mixture that keeps him 690 years young. The historical Nicolas Flamel had a similarly outsized reputation. The scribe and manuscript-seller married a wealthy widow and owned many properties, but probably never wrote alchemical texts, such as the one attributed to him on hieroglyphics.

Possible History of Magic exam question: what happened when Giambattista della Porta, the author of this 1558 book on natural magic, was called a "Neapolitan sorcerer" by the French witch hunter Jean Bodin? Della Porta's book explained that some women accused of witchcraft may have used herbal lotions that contained hallucinogenic properties, prompting them to imagine they could fly. With a little luck, Flourish and Botts Bookseller may have a copy; you'll also find creative applications for mandrake and other medicinal plants in these pages.

John Nash's intoxicating woodcuts have a distinctly modern feel, with leaves and blossoms fashioned in a bold contrast of dark and light. Nash classifies his plants as "deadly" (nightshade), "dangerous" (foxglove, thorn apple), and "suspect" (pasque flower, Bear's foot), though The Times Literary Supplement's 1928 review argues that these groupings are somewhat arbitrary. Wolfsbane (also known as Monk's Hood) is the most poisonous plant of the buttercup family. J.K. Rowling tells us that the plant could suppress violent impulses in werewolves if taken by the gobletful before a full moon.

In the eighteenth century, dittany gained notice in Europe for its efficacy in treating worms and infections. A tincture of dittany cut with wine was also used to treat epilepsy. William Woodville reports in his three-volume Medical Botany that the plant could often be seen adorning the borders of flower gardens, emitting a strong bituminous odor. Wizards, follow your nose: as term begins, and you make your way to platform 9-and-3/4, you'll do well to nab this odiferous plant from Woodville's former garden, located in King's Cross just yards away from the Hogwarts Express.

"Deck the hall with boughs of black hellebore" hardly has a festive ring, but Robert Bentley's Medicinal Plants assures us that this plant that blooms in the bleak midwinter is commonly known as the Christmas Rose. Bentley reports that black hellebore has a slightly bitter taste and causes a tingling sensation on the tongue. In moderate doses, the plant was used to treat mania, melancholia, and epilepsy. It was also used as a medicine for domestic animals. In large amounts, though, it is poisonous. At Hogwarts, the plant's calming properties are utilized in Professor Snape's Potions class to make the Draught of Peace, but best to keep in mind Bentley's description and skip it at the Yule Ball.

Founded in 1783, Curtis's Botanical Magazine is the longest-running botanical periodical with color illustrations of plants (Muggles can subscribe, as it's still in print). William Curtis describes the White Lily, lilium candidum, as "among the very oldest inhabitants of the flower-garden" and praises the flower for its stateliness, beauty, and exceptional powers. These qualities wouldn't have been lost on J.K. Rowling, who gave Harry's mother the same name. Elsewhere in her books, lilies are beloved by slugs, ghosts, and by the heads of Gryffindor and Slytherin: Minerva McGonegall and Severus Snape.